In an age where sports photographers are starting to shoot 20 frames each second, Joshua Paul of Lollipop Magazine can only shoot 20 images in total. That’s because he’s using a Graflex 4 x 5 view camera from over 100 years ago to capture one of the most demanding subjects a photographer can take on – Formula 1.
Paul says he first picked up his rather ancient camera after seeing a 1969 magazine that featured shots of that year’s Indy 500. The photographer had intentionally used blur and out-of-focus elements in their film shots to capture the scenes, and the drama inspired him to start making use of his own film camera for F1 photography.
Originally starting his career as a portrait and then adventure photographer, Paul has since fallen in love with photographing F1, gaining full accredited photographer status by the FIA in 2014. He’s shot 22 major races since then.
His skill and passion as a motorsports photographer is evident in the shots he produces with his 1913 Graflex; with only 20 shots possible per session, Paul has to spend most of his time carefully planning every shot from camera settings to exact composition, to achieve his impressive and dramatic results.
Check out some of our favourite shots below, and visit his Instagram (@lollipopmagazine) for more.
All images © Joshua Paul, used with permission
